Construction Planning

CONSTRUCTION PLANNING

Construction planning is an important step when constructing a structure because it summarizes the project and provides guidelines to complete the project in a successful manner. Project in-charges recognize that having a systematic construction plan can save them resource, time and money. Construction planning is the specific process a construction manager uses to lay out how they will manage and execute a construction project, from building design to completion. It lists the activities and schedule for each part of the construction process. A construction plan defines the scope of work, sets timelines, allocates resources, and establishes communication protocols. It is like a master plan, which ensures the construction project runs smoothly and meets all its deadlines, budget constraints, and quality standards.

 

NECESSITY FOR CONSTRUCTION PLANNING

Planning is the most important technique of the management. Planning means preparation for the future. It is a thought process requiring the use of planning abilities, resource management, foresight and good decision making. Planning is therefore a course of action to achieve the desired results. Construction planning team should consider the experience gained from past, present and even future weightage in the planning process. Planning is essential to ensure proper utilization of human and material resources to achieve the objectives of the project. Since planning involves the future, it has to be flexible. If at any stage of the project, the expected results are not achieved accordingly to the initial planning, then a revised planning approach is to be adopted. Re-thinking is an important feature of planning. Construction project planning includes the estimate, budget, time schedule, sequences of completion of each activity of the project, resource and manpower planning.

 

CLASSIFICATION OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

Depending on the nature of the construction facility, major construction projects are classified as follows:

❖ Building Projects: Buildings constitute the largest segment of construction business providing shelter and services for habitation, educational, recreational, social and commercial needs. These are mostly designed by engineering firms and architects and financed by Governments, Public and Private Sectors. biug

❖ Infrastructure Projects: These projects involve the use of large quantity of bulk materials like earth, steel and concrete. These projects include dams, canals, highways, airport, railways, bridges, docks and harbours, nuclear and thermal power plants and other specialized construction. These are designed by specialist engineering firms.

❖ Industrial Projects: These include steel mills, petroleum refineries and many other manufacturing and processing industries. These projects involve heavy investment and are again designed by specialist firms.

❖ Special-Purpose Projects: These include projects for protecting the environment, utility service complex operations, etc. and involve the nitors experience of specialized agencies.

 

STEPS IN THE CONSTRUCTION PLANNING

The following are the steps to be followed in a construction planning:

(i) Project initiation: Every construction project, either big or small, needs to start with a feasibility of the project and the steps to be processed to get the job done. The first step in planning would be to find out the problem or identify the opportunity to be seized. This is necessary to be able to Silos formulate practical and realistic objectives. Generally project starts with a project initiation document (PID), which describes:

❖ The number of workers needed, including contractors and subcontractors such as plumbers and electricians.

❖ Materials needed for the design and building plans.

❖ Total cost estimate of the project, including labor, materials, equipment, fees, and permits.

(ii) Creating the project plan: Next step is the creation of project plan. Here the project initiation document turns into a more concrete construction plan by setting goals that are S.M.A.R.T.

Specific: Specific goals of the project like deadlines for key milestones are fixed. Measurable: Details should be clear in the plan in such a way that, if an activity is completed in the deadline, its achievement rate should be measured or assessed easily.

Attainable: Deadlines for key milestones should be arrived considering the availability of the resources. Buffer time should also be available, in case if alternate sources have to be used. Then only the planned activities can be attained without any lag in the schedule.

Realistic: The goals need to be within the abilities of the project manager. Activities should be planned in a realistic manner considering the required time bound. Instead, if the activities are planned in a hurry to finish, then it may leads to failure.

Timely: A specific time frame should be fixed within which practically the project goals can be achieved.

(iii) Executing the plan: Succeeding step is to execute the plan. After creating a high-level project timeline, including major milestones and key deliverables, details should be mapped out at each project stage. Team meetings should be arranged frequently to discuss about the project plan and construction schedule. Each person of the project team should be addressed individually by the project manager, to narrate the expectations from them and their queries if any should be answered.

(iv) Tracking the project progress: The next step is to accurately track the performance of the construction project team and ensure that the milestones are completed. In the event of an unsuccessful project, this process helps to figure out the reasons for failure and it can be avoided in the future project planning. Successful construction managers typically use key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor the performance of their projects. Key performance indicators include:

❖ Project objectives

❖ Project performance

❖ Quality of construction

❖ Time schedule

(v) Evaluation of the project: The last step is to evaluate the project after completion. The lessons learned and data gathered from the project will help to approach the next project in a constructive manner. This work will serve as the pre-construction planning for the next project.

With the help of the clearly-defined construction project plan and a way to track performance and obstacles, it is well-equipped to execute an even more successful construction planning process the next time around. A concluding meeting with the project team should be conducted to discuss about the performance of the individuals. To formally close the project, actual project budget should be compared with the original planned budget and the final project report should be drafted to share with the key stakeholders.

 

OBJECTIVES OF CONSTRUCTION PLANNING.

The main objective of planning is to execute the project most economically within the time schedule. Effective planning includes the following factors:

❖ Each element of the project should be properly designed.

❖ Selecting proper equipment and machinery accordingly to the nature of the project.

❖ Arranging proper maintenance facility for equipment and machinery near the project site to avoid hindrance due to breakdown.

❖ Procuring materials well in advance and stocking at the site to avoid delay due to insufficient storage.

❖ Employing well trained and experienced staff in the project to carry over the activities effectively.

❖ Providing welfare schemes for the staff and workers such as medical and recreational facilities.

❖ Encouraging workers by providing activity based incentives.

❖ Arranging constant flow of funds for completing the project successfully.

❖ Ensuring proper safety measures for the workers such as proper ventilation, proper arrangement of light and water.

 

PRINCIPLES OF CONSTRUCTION PLANNING

The following points are the principles of construction planning:

❖ The plan should present the information in an easily understandable manner, irrespective of the complex situation in the project.

❖ The plan should be realistic, flexible and comprehensive.

❖ The plan should provide a source for project monitoring and control process.

 

TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECT PLANNING

There are several construction project planning methods that project managers can use depending on the scale of the project and the industry they are working with. The following are some of the most common types of construction project planning

❖ Strategic planning: When developing a strategic construction project plan, the project manager may meet with corporate planners and the client to odt to sam determine the requirements and expectations, in order to satisfy both the user and the owner of the project. After gathering this data, the project 159 manager creates a master construction delivery plan with specific guidelines to ensure the team completes the project on time.

❖ Operational planning: This type of planning may take place after the client approves a strategic plan. In this phase, the project teams come together to expertise a detailed plan with strategic goals and activity steps. They agree on deadlines and work together to complete documents with reports.

❖ Business planning: A manager usually develops the business plan at the beginning of a project. This type of planning describes the project and includes a chart of what the project should look like, guidelines to execute the project and tasks for specific team members. The business plan also includes a bid for the project and a contract for the client to sign.

❖ Resource planning: Creating a resource plan ensures that each project a company is currently working has sufficient staff, materials and resources necessary to be completed successfully and on time. To keep everything organized, project managers often create milestone dates and deadlines, as well as a list of where they plan to allocate necessary resources. This can be beneficial if multiple projects are in progress at the same time.

 

STAGES OF CONSTRUCTION PLANNING

The various stages in the planning process are:

❖ Preplanning:- This is the first stage of planning before a decision has been taken to start the project. During this stage, the objectives are to be clearly pointed and a general framework of the project should be formulated. Also justification for starting the project, a cost benefit analysis and investment alternatives are to be given.

❖ Detailed Planning: Second stage of planning includes the preparation of bae detailed design, detailed working drawings, specifications and detailed bill of quantities. Also these type of planning shows the breaking up of the entire project into small component jobs and also establishing the sequences of various operations and allocation of time duration to the different activities in the project.

❖ Monitoring and Control: This is the last phase of planning, which involves monitoring the progress of the project according to the proposed schedule. Also, this stage includes the updating of the schedule, considering the actual progress of the project and preparing revised schedule regarding the availability of the various resources

 

ADVANTAGES OF CONSTRUCTION PLANNING

The following are the advantages of construction planning:

❖ The contractor can get a clear scenario about the sequence of work, since the construction plan is detailed through sketches, bar charts etc.

❖ It helps to maintain the financial cash flow of the contractor through proper resource management.

❖ Labour requirement can also be managed properly through appropriate planning for each activity.

❖ Various sub activities of the project can also be identified and actual work can be measured easily by the contractor.

❖ The client will know exactly how long it will take to complete the project.

 

LIMITATIONS OF PLANNING

The following are the limitations of construction planning:

❖ The effectiveness of the plan depends upon the correctness of assumptions.

❖ In certain big projects planning is expensive and might delays action.

❖ Planning encourages a false sense of security.